Hard Choices
by Kiva Taliana
Summary: Following on from my story 'The Scheme Of Things', the knights who know about Merlin, have to make some decisions, and so do Arthur and Merlin.
1. The Knights

**As always, my one chapter stories never turn out like that, so my group are going to get a little more time to deal with this, and so does Arthur. **

Merlin lay very still and he wasn't finding it particularly difficult. His ankles were bound and his hands were tied behind his back. The bag on his head was very inconvenient but it didn't really cause him a huge problem. He wasn't going to panic just yet. He hadn't been taken out of Camelot. Merlin knew he was still within the citadel walls. The only question he had was why was someone doing this.

He had been walking back from Arthur's chambers to his own when they had pounced. The bag had gone on his head and then it had been rapped against the wall a couple of times. It might have been the other way round actually, Merlin through to himself. He vaguely remembered seeing someone checking him before the second bang, although their face had been carefully covered. Then the bag had gone on, and hands had been on him, tying him up and he had been hefted over someone's shoulder and carried away.

At no time during the proceedings had he passed out. He felt a little sick, quite constantly as he had been carried over someone's shoulder, but it was steadying now. He had been put down somewhere that smelt like hay, and he could hear the faint stamp and snort of the castle's horses. Somewhere by the stables and still in Camelot, he concluded. And he had been left well alone, he could hear the low murmur of voices some distance away.

They couldn't be after Arthur, if that was the case why go to the trouble of carrying him away. They could have just killed him where he stood or knocked him out and left him. Merlin took a breath, exhaling out into the bag; he tried to focus on the material rippling in front of his face. He whispered a word and let his breath touch the cloth. It rippled in front of him, like water and faded away.

Merlin blinked again, he could still see the weave of the cloth bag. It rested on his eyes gently while he tried to press beyond that with his mind and see who was in the room with him. He gave another sigh as he saw the five men who had taken him. The five knights who knew what he was. They were sat around a small table looking very serious. Olwen looked distinctly unhappy and Merlin felt a flash of pity for him; for all of them really. They could blame Arthur for the position they were in, but a more convent scapegoat was himself. They didn't want to do anything to their future king.

They were murmuring in a low tone. Merlin gave up on the sight spell, he knew who it was now and concentrated on enhancing his hearing.

"Is he all right?" Olwen asked. "He doesn't look like he's moving."

Merlin shifted just to oblige him, pulling on the ropes around his wrists but leaving it at that. They had seen him rip open a mountain and throw huge scorpions about the place. Why were they now thinking that ropes and a cloth bag could hold him? Then again, Arthur had done the same to him. Merlin stopped moving as he heard the sound of a sword being drawn.

"Jonas, what are you doing?" Olwen asked.

"I just want to be cautious," Jonas said.

"Put that down," Rupert snapped. "I mean it, put it down."

Merlin heard the sword clatter to the floor and breathed a sigh of relief. If he had to defend himself he would do exactly that but like it had been with Arthur, Merlin thought it better to let whatever they were doing run its course. That approach had worked with Arthur. But Arthur knew him very well; they spent enough time together, more than was probably necessary and appropriate. Merlin ended up heading out on hunts and patrols with them which didn't need him.

On some levels Merlin had invited himself along, just so he could keep an eye on Arthur. Arthur never seemed to bother about his presence but he was more aware of it now, and what it meant.

"We might need it," Jonas argued, which was replied with by silence. "Well, we might, depending on what we decide."

"Did we really have to do that?" Olwen asked. Merlin wondered what 'that' was, he got an answer as Robert said.

"If we want to talk to him as well, then we need him here. It is about him after all, what we need to sort out."

"There isn't anything to sort out, we know what we have to do," Jonas said.

Merlin grimaced; out of all of them, he would have expected Jonas to react like that. He was not Merlin's biggest fan, even before he had revealed himself as a sorcerer. Most of the time Jonas had looked at him as if he couldn't work out the point of Merlin's existence at all.

"I'm certain we didn't need to tie him up, and you hit his head really hard," Olwen said.

"I wanted to make sure he was subdued."

Again Merlin didn't feel very surprised that it was Jonas who had hurt him. Still, the others were not as bad as that, Olwen sounded like he might be on Merlin's side, at least a little. He didn't think they would get away with killing him, but there were other things they could do to him.

The men sat around the table eyed the still figure at the end of the stable, far enough away from them that they thought Merlin couldn't hear them. They looked at each other.

"All right," Rupert said, looking around at each of them, assessing their mood. "We can't leave this situation, we all know what we saw, what Merlin… is."

"We should tell the king," Gareth said quietly.

"True, we do have a duty to uphold the laws of this land, one of which is to deal with anyone suspected of sorcery," Rupert said.

"Merlin's hardly suspected, is he? We know he's a sorcerer, we saw it with our own eyes," Roger added. "But, we have also been told that people who use magic are evil. Did any one of us before that think Merlin was evil?"

He looked around the group. Olwen shrugged.

"I don't think he's evil even now."

"You talked to Arthur about it, what did he say to you?" Robert said.

"Nothing really," Olwen said with a frown. "He just said he knew Merlin before he knew that he was a …" Olwen paused, looking frightened to say the word. Then he carried on. "And that he knew Merlin wasn't a danger, Arthur felt bad about using him like that, I think."

"It could be that he is holding Arthur in some kind of thrall."

Merlin almost snorted with laughter at that. He did give a very muffled cough and the conversation at the far room ceased. To try and cover himself he made a little show of coughing and then settled again, wriggling a little but not trying to hard. He paused as he heard a stool scrape on the stone floor.

"Jonas," Rupert's low voice warned. Merlin listened to the long tense silence, wondering if they had suspected him of doing something. Then there was a scrape of a stool and footsteps across the floor. Merlin waited, sensing the movement as someone stopped near him, then in one swift movement the bag was grabbed and pulled off his head. Merlin looked up at Jonas crouched by him, the bag in one hand, a knife in the other. Merlin's eyes widened and he tensed as Jonas put the knife blade against his throat.

"Hey!" Olwen said, standing up, looking horrified at what was happening. Robert reached to grip his arm to steady him and he looked at Jonas.

"This is not what we planned."

Merlin watched Jonas' eyes flicker a little. He felt a little frightened to move his throat with the knife pressed against it but Merlin took the risk and said, with greater calm than he expected, "what have you planned?"

He moved his eyes to the group still around the table. They all looked at each other. Jonas answered for them in the end.

"When we want to talk to you, we will do. For now keep quiet."

Merlin looked up at him, trying to read Jonas' expression. Unfortunately his face remained impassive, he was going to giving nothing away, his face closed and his eyes just calm. Merlin stayed very still.

"Fair enough," he said.

That did, to Merlin's surprise, make Jonas smirk, and relax a little. The knife came away from his neck. Merlin felt a little irritated when Jonas pulled the bag back over his head. He rolled his eyes and huffed but Jonas was already walking back. Merlin re-instigated the listening spell, catching Olwen's words as he said.

"You never said you were going to use a knife!"

"Calm down," Jonas snapped at him. "It just seemed appropriate at the time."

"You could have hurt him!" Olwen said, sounding rather upset by the whole thing. Merlin pondered it, if that was part of whatever they were doing then maybe he had just done something right. That they were seeing if he was willing to wait on their verdict. Using Jonas for that part of the plan was clever, it was certainly believable.

The group were settling down from the upset as Merlin suddenly felt something trickle into the edge of his awareness. Someone was sneaking up towards the stables, someone very familiar. Merlin carefully searched out, disregarding the conversation nearby.

Arthur was angry; as Merlin sensed him he decided furious was a far better word. He had a good sense of Arthur's aura and presence, it was his job to keep him alive, and he liked to be able to sense where he was during battles, and most of the time actually. Merlin kept it lingering at the back of his mind a lot of the time. It did help him to know if Arthur was going to jump out at him at any point, since he did have a fondness for sneaking up on Merlin just to take him by surprise.

Now he was sneaking up on his own knights, having just caught sight of them. He hadn't quite gone to bed when Merlin left him, and Arthur had heard something and glanced out of the window just in time to see someone who was clearly Merlin being carried away. Now he was realising who had done it.

As he stalked up he was still thinking out his battle plan. Either storm in there and make himself known, yell at them and retrieve Merlin, or sneak in and bang their heads together, a lot. He was debating that when a voice rang through his mind like a bell.

"Arthur, no!"


	2. Merlin And Arthur

**Glad everyone is enjoying me carrying this on.**

Arthur stumbled and shook his head, hardly believing it. He put his free hand against the wall and paused, listening in case he had been detected by his guards. Since none of them moved he stayed still and whispered.

"What? Merlin?"

Arthur looked around, expecting to see him appear, having evaded them somehow, but nothing seemed forthcoming. He looked around, trying to confirm if what he heard had been as he had felt it.

"Merlin?"

Since he still didn't get a reply, he thought it instead. He blinked as he felt something touch his mind.

"Ow! Don't shout!" Merlin replied, in his head. Arthur could hear Merlin, right in his head. Presumably Merlin could hear him back. Yes, he could, since Merlin's voice followed on with. "Stop thinking."

"I know that's easy for you," Arthur snarled, trying to keep his thoughts low. "What are you doing sitting there?"

"I'm lying down actually," Merlin corrected, Arthur rolled his eyes, and then jumped as Merlin started talking again. "Stop that. I know I can get out of here, and you could get me out of here, but that's not going to solve the problem. They have to work this out."

"What is there to work out?" Arthur snapped at him. He felt Merlin wince. He felt it, how the hell was he feeling this. Even as he took in the mind-blowing fact of Merlin doing this, Arthur started to debate how useful it was to him.

"Just leave it," Merlin snapped at him. "I don't want to be doing this, I was hoping to go home and get some sleep."

"So why are you still there?" Arthur asked.

"If I fight them that will probably make up their minds, I am a danger and they will go to the king. I'm not sure what to do."

"Leave it to me then."

"Arthur, just not yet, just give them time. Back up a bit."

Oddly, Arthur found himself doing exactly that. He didn't understand what Merlin was really getting at, and it seemed so odd. Merlin didn't sit around being helpless. Arthur had often thought that of him, but he now knew Merlin was usually doing something. If he did it now, it would be magic, and it was probably best not to play that hand at people who feared it, who might just run to the king.

"All right." Arthur did as Merlin asked. He backed up and retreated into the stables next door. The horses turned to look at the strange, nocturnal intrusion. It wasn't something they expected, it was out of routine. Arthur reached out from the shadows and put his hand on the nearest horse, gently petting its nose and allowing the beast to sniff him. Since he was recognised the horse settled, and the rest of the stable followed the lead. Arthur moved to the shadows and sat down in the hay, leaning back against the wall. He kept hold of his sword, laying it over his lap.

"I'm not going to leave."

"Thank you," Merlin said, laughter in his voice.

"This is my fault," Arthur said.

"Why?" Merlin asked him. Confusion echoed around Arthur's mind.

"I made you do it, it was me that forced you to reveal it to them. It's my fault, and they promised me they would never speak to anyone about what they saw."

"Arthur they haven't, but they made a vow to uphold the laws of this kingdom, the use of magic is a pretty big thing. They have to weigh up if that vow is valid."

Merlin winced at the rush of heat that went through his mind as Arthur announced.

"I am the Crown Prince of this Kingdom, and your master! I have every right to deal with you as you see fit! I uphold the laws of this kingdom just as much as they do."

Merlin could have felt quite offended by some of that statement, but it was backed up by Arthur's emotions. They were sometimes hard to see, just looking at his face and listening to his voice. Merlin got the feeling that Arthur didn't realise just how much he was giving away. There was protectiveness and a frightened anger on the edge of that statement. He was those things, he had a right over Merlin, and he really did feel that it was his responsibility. Merlin bit his tongue over replying to that and tried to get Arthur into perspective about the laws of his own land.

"Not so much anymore. You have protected a sorcerer."

Arthur went silent, thinking about that.

"Arthur?" Merlin demanded, sounding very concerned in Arthur's head.

"I'm here."

"They're trying to keep you out of this. If they go to the king, and tell them what they saw, then they will be honour bound to tell the whole story. You will have your integrity put into question if they do that."

Merlin suddenly realised he sounded almost intelligent, then he rolled his eyes as he realised, Arthur was thinking that. Not out loud, he was not directing the thought at Merlin, but he was realising that it was one of those moments that Merlin showed his intelligence. Most of the time he hid it because he had to, it was a convenient cover.

"You are not taking the fall for me Merlin," Arthur snapped at him.

"And you are not putting yourself on the line for me," Merlin said back. He frowned and shifted. Since when had he been able to do that? He did a lot for Arthur, he was his servant, and he was his friend. Merlin would do just about anything to protect him. Since when had he become so commanding over him?

"I was wondering that!" Arthur snapped.

"Sorry, it was probably your thought then," Merlin said. "I wasn't thinking anything."

"Shut up, Merlin," Arthur thought to himself. Then Merlin did. Arthur felt a shiver of panic. "What's going on? What are they saying, can you hear them?"

Arthur turned on the pile of hay. The horses turned their heads at the sound, but they were aware of him there and they didn't react. He pressed his ear against the wall, trying to listen to what was going on beyond the wall. There was nothing he could hear. Merlin was lying just beyond the barrier and his knights were at the far end.

"They're evenly split," Merlin said, his voice distracted as he listened, and relayed the information. "Olwen and Robert want to keep the vow, Gareth and Rupert think they should tell Uther. Jonas is on the fence at the moment."

"Oh great, we know which way he is going to think," Arthur moaned.

"He's the most unbiased of them all. He won't take anything into account but the facts."

"Merlin, they are going to kill you."

"You never know," Merlin said. "But you have to let them come to their own decision."

"It had better be the right one, I'm not going to let them hurt you. They will have to go through me."

"If I need you, I'll yell," Merlin said.

"You'd better," Arthur replied, settling down to wait again, feeling just a gentle ripple on the edge of his mind as he remained aware of Merlin on the other side of the wall.


	3. The Knights And Merlin

"It's simple," Gareth said. "Merlin has broken one of the most fundamental laws of Camelot. We have a duty to tell the king."

"But in doing that, we have to tell the king that his son is aware of what Merlin is," Robert said.

"Not only aware of it, but also condoning it," Jonas said. They fell silent for a moment.

"But we vowed, as knights, that we would never reveal to another soul what we saw. That vow has to mean something too. Arthur did it, knowing he would put Merlin in this position, and Merlin did it to save our lives," Olwen said.

"Also worth mentioning is the fact that Arthur put us in this position," Gareth said. They all fell silent again and thought about that, looking at each other uncomfortably.

"We know what we need to do," Rupert said, breaking the tension. "The only thing we can do, which is tell the king. We can do it privately so no one else needs to know that the prince is involved."

"I don't see why," Olwen said. "We made a vow and we can stick to that. It means nothing happens to Arthur, and then nothing happens to Merlin."

"Merlin is the one that caused this," Jonas said.

"No, Arthur is the one that caused this," Olwen snapped back. "He chose to save our lives, so did Merlin for that matter. How many other times might that have happened? I don't agree with this at all. I'm sticking by the vow, you'll have to tell the king I'm harbouring a sorcerer as well."

Quite clearly that was Olwen's stance on it. Merlin cheered the young knight in his head, but not too loudly, otherwise Arthur would sense him and go back into overdrive. Merlin could still feel him, full of pent up tension. Arthur was not the most patient person in the world, and having to sit there and wait was not an easy thing for him. Merlin was rather surprised at the influence he had managed to exert over him. Again, not something he was going to inform Arthur of. He had cut the telepathic connection for the time being; he couldn't relay what was going on and listen to it at the same time.

"Are you sure?" Jonas asked Olwen.

"I know it was pretty scary to watch," Olwen said. "We had no idea what Arthur was going to do. I did say that I thought he was going to throw Merlin to them. What Merlin did was phenomenal. We've seen some sorcery before, but I don't remember anything of that magnitude."

"Which makes it all the more worrying," Gareth said carefully. "Merlin is close to Arthur, and let's face it Uther isn't the only one that thinks it's inappropriate."

Underneath the bag Merlin raised his eyebrows and sniggered to himself a little. He certainly hoped Arthur didn't realise what some of his knights were thinking. Merlin felt himself blushing as he wondered what Uther really thought of it all.

"I don't think it's entirely like that," Robert said. "I know Arthur thinks highly of Merlin for telling him off when they first met. Nobody else has ever done that."

This was a very interesting conversation, Merlin decided. He spent a lot of time insulting Arthur, and Arthur insulted back just as competently. It had become so common an occurrence that none of the knights really reacted when they heard it now. But there had also been moments when Arthur had clearly paused and looked at Merlin, seeing something, being concerned when Merlin was upset, which Merlin also did for Arthur.

"And it also means that Merlin can get close enough to Uther. It would make life convenient for him if something happened to the king," Rupert said.

"But what would Arthur think of that. Uther isn't just the king, he's Arthur's father, would Merlin really do that?" Olwen said. Merlin decided he had a very staunch ally in him. He'd remember that.

"And hasn't Merlin had ample opportunity to hurt Uther if that was what he really wanted to do?" Robert said. "I don't think it's really in Merlin to hurt anyone, if he didn't want to."

That's why I am still lying here, Merlin thought to himself. Why could none of them work that one out? Knights could be so thick at times. Must be all that sword clanging, Merlin giggled to himself.

"So what did everyone else think when they saw what happened?" Jonas asked. "Let's start there rather than talking in another circle. We know what Olwen's opinion is."

"I still can hardly believe it, not just throwing them everywhere but cracking open the mountain. I've seen some sorcerers in action, he's as strong as them, if not better."

"How do you know so much about it?" Roger asked Rupert.

"I've been around here a long time. Merlin has been keeping it under wraps since he got to Camelot. He's done a damn good job so far."

"How long as Arthur known?" Gareth asked.

"Not that long, I think," Olwen said. "He has a better perspective on Merlin. Don't you think that if Arthur thought Merlin was a danger to Uther he would have done something about it?"

"There is the possibility that Merlin is holding Arthur under some sort of enchantment," Gareth said. "That could be why he's keeping it a secret."

"But it was Arthur that made Merlin perform that magic. If Merlin wanted to keep it hidden then why would he do that, it would have been simpler to kill us, and just keep Arthur safe."

They all fell silent again. Merlin decided they were getting nowhere; all they were doing was talking in a very elaborate circle and not actually making up their mind. He was tempted to call Arthur in just to break up the monotony.

"We're getting nowhere like this, we need to talk to Merlin," Jonas said. Merlin heard the sounds of movement, stools being pulled back and footsteps coming towards him. Merlin shifted as he heard them come closer. One person was walking faster than the others to reach him first. Merlin tensed a little as he felt someone take hold of him. They sat him up with surprising gentleness, in contrast to the way they had captured him. Merlin wasn't surprised when the bag was pulled off to reveal Olwen. He gave Merlin an embarrassed smile and stood up, stepping to one side but hovering over him protectively, and watching the others, particularly Jonas, quite intently.

Merlin looked up at them stood around him and waited. If they were trying to intimidate him they weren't doing a very good job. As he looked at them he felt a strong wave of confidence wash over him. If they wanted to talk to him, he was in with a chance. He hadn't really felt that way when Arthur found out; despair and depression had gripped him then. But Arthur had got over the revelation.

"You know why you're here?" Jonas asked, designating himself as spokesman. Merlin looked at the group.

"I can guess what it's about," Merlin said, deciding not to give away that he had eavesdropped on the entire conversation.

"Do you know what Arthur made us promise?" Olwen asked.

Merlin nodded. "He told me that when he told me what he wanted me to do."

"And you honestly believe we can keep that vow?" Gareth said.

"You have so far," Merlin told him. They had, it was weeks ago.

"We are under no obligation to keep it."

"You promised Arthur," Merlin said.

"He's not the king," Rupert said. Merlin raised his eyebrows.

"He will be." And then after a pause added. "If the dollop-head can manage to keep himself alive long enough."

"Hey!" Rupert snapped, kicking Merlin's shoulder. He grunted and winced at the force the knight used. Olwen looked ready to intervene if Rupert aimed again. Merlin watched him warily, wondering if he could kick Rupert back. It was very tempted to whip his feet out from under him but again he thought that using magic, just now, was not the best idea. As he looked up at Rupert it actually seemed to be what the knight was expecting. Merlin settled for shifting his arm a little to ease the pain, and shuffling away from him towards Olwen.

"And I suppose you help with that?" Gareth said.

"Yes, quite a bit, actually."

"Not much use in a fight thought," Jonas said.

"Oh, only if you don't include the sudden falling branches, people slipping over, spears thrown from random directions, sword hilts getting a bit hot, stones whacking people on the side of the head…."

"And that was all you, while you're usually sprawled on the floor."

"It does take a little bit of concentration," Merlin muttered.

"You managed to get shot by an arrow," Olwen said.

"I was concentrating on Arthur at the time, and he's been making me fight properly, it makes it a bit distracting."

"I presume you healed yourself then?" Robert said.

Merlin nodded, deciding not to mention the dragon.

"But not too much, so it wouldn't look suspicious," Gareth concluded.

"Contrary to popular belief I'm not a complete idiot."

"But the pretence has probably been quite useful, especially around Uther," Jonas said.

"I can't deny that, no."

"And you can honestly say that you're not a danger to him. He'd execute you if he knew," Olwen said. Merlin looked up at him.

"Yes, I know."

"So you practice magic in Camelot," Robert said. "How long have you been learning magic? I heard Gaius used to practice."

"And he doesn't now," Merlin said, trying to keep the alarm out of his voice. "And I don't 'practice' magic, it comes naturally, I've been able to do it all my life."

Merlin felt quite pleased by the surprised expressions on their faces.

"But it must take some skill, you ripped open a mountain. How did you do that?" Olwen asked, sounding more genuinely interested than was probably good for him.

"I drew on the fire elements, when I unleashed the first spell I could sense the lava underneath, I just pulled it up."

"Just like that?" Robert asked.

"Kind of, I think I got a bit out of control but I'm not used to summoning up as much power as that. I tend to keep the spells quite small, you know," Merlin paused and thought. "Like saving Uther from being married to a troll."

"That is not funny," Rupert snapped.

Merlin giggled a little and then flinched back from Rupert as he stepped forward, the expression on his face revealing his intention. Olwen stepped over Merlin to meet him, pushing Rupert back.

"No, leave him alone," Olwen snapped. Rupert's jaw tensed and Olwen gave him a hard shove backwards, staying in front of Merlin to protect him.

"I think we've heard all we need from him," Jonas said, turning and walking back, grabbing Rupert's arm to draw him away. Jonas nodded at Olwen who sighed and picked up the bag. Merlin groaned.

"Oh no, don't…" Olwen shrugged apologetically and put the bag over his head as Merlin finished his sentence, "do that."

Olwen backed up watching as Merlin sighed heavily and dropped his head back, rapping it so hard against the wall that all the knights paused and turned at the sound. Merlin dropped his head forward and announced loudly.

"Ow!"


	4. Merlin And The Knights

The knights reconvened around the table, saying nothing for a minute until Rupert looked around and said.

"We should have brought some mead."

"This is not a social gathering!" Jonas snapped raising his voice. "We are trying to make a serious decision."

"Well, we're not getting very far," Olwen said.

"Your opinion has already been stated anyway," Rupert snapped back at him. Olwen glared.

"So has yours I think. And are you doing this because you have a serious crisis of conscience, or is it just because you just don't like Merlin!"

"It sounds like you seriously do like Merlin," Rupert said, his voice hardening. Olwen rose up from his stool, slamming his hands down on the table and leaning over towards Rupert.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

Rupert reached up and grabbed the front of Olwen's shirt. Jonas lashed his hand out and grabbed Rupert's wrist.

"Enough! This is hardly the time for us to start arguing. Let him go, Rupert. Olwen, sit down."

Both men did as they were told. Jonas looked around. "Olwen has a point. Personal feelings are nothing to do with this. I like Merlin, he does his job and it's quite obvious he cares about Arthur. But that is not the point we need to discuss."

The rest of them all gave vague nods and murmurs of consent.

"Merlin is right though," Olwen said. "Arthur isn't just the prince, he's the future king. What we decide now may have repercussions beyond what is happening here."

Merlin listened carefully, they were getting close to a decision, he could sense it. And he had to make his own serious decision. If it came to it, should he really call on Arthur to intervene, that might just make it worse.

"I can't help thinking, I know that everyone says that magic is evil and that the people who use it are corrupted, but some people think weapons are evil, that we would be better off without warriors, and knights," Gareth said.

"We fight in defence of this kingdom, to protect the people who live here," Robert said.

"The knights of other kingdoms probably do the same," Gareth said. "But I've still killed them in battle, are they evil and I'm not?"

They all paused and thought about it. Even Merlin stopped to think about that. It made him ponder some of his actions a little. He had gone up against creatures of magic, creatures that perhaps could demand some loyalty off him, and he had destroyed them. Was he evil in their eyes?

He had been doing exactly the same thing, defending Arthur, and defending Camelot, because he had been told something better was to come. And he also did save Uther, because Arthur wanted it. He couldn't refuse Arthur when Arthur needed him.

"Right, it comes down to this, those in favour of breaking the vow and telling the king raise your hand."

Merlin dropped the listening spell and whispered the words so he could see what was happening through the cloth. Again he could still see the tightly woven threads, like an imprint over a picture, but he looked at the knights sat there and held his breath while he waited for their verdict.

Which turned out to be a touch anti-climatic.

Merlin carried on holding his breath and the knights looked at each other, waiting for a hand to rise. None did, the knights sat there carefully looked at each other, and all keeping their hands down.

"I knew I was never going to do it," Olwen eventually said, breaking the tense silence. Jonas smirked and then laughed.

"I didn't," he said. "But Arthur made us take the vow to protect Merlin. I'm keeping it to protect Arthur."

"I don't think it's right to betray Merlin, since he saved our lives, and that was the only reason he did it," Robert said. "I think he would do it again if he had to."

"He did that to protect Arthur," Gareth said. "And considering some of the attacks that had happened to Camelot, and us, and Arthur, I think a little magic on our side might not be a bad thing. I trust Merlin."

They all turned to look at Rupert, who looked a little chagrined at having to give a reason.

"I figured you'd all vote this way, and Olwen's right, I shouldn't make the decision based on the fact that I don't like him. That's never going to change, but you're seeing something I'm not, and I trust all of you."

Merlin wondered if he could give Rupert boils, he was sure he had a spell for that sort of thing. On the other hand, Merlin didn't like Rupert all that much, so he guessed they were even.

"So, what do we do now?" Olwen asked, looking at Merlin, still sat there, and they thought unaware of what was going on.

"One more thing," Jonas said, his face darkening a little, and he pulled his knife again.

"Jonas!" Robert snapped in warning, going after him. The other three followed, tension suddenly rising again. Merlin dropped the spell again, jumping as Jonas yanked the bag off his head for the third time. Merlin looked up at him, and then looked at the knife in his hands, and he waited for what Jonas was going to do.

The knight crouched down and pointed the knife at Merlin's face, the tip close to his nose. Merlin went almost cross-eyed trying to keep it in view.

"Since we have chosen to stand by the vow Arthur made us take, over you, then you can stand by this one. Do you swear on Arthur's life that you will continue to protect this kingdom and its king?"

Merlin looked up into Jonas' dark brown eyes, trying not to think about the knife that was as close as it was. He bit down on his lower lip and eyed the knights.

"Er… not really, not like that."

There was no surprise that the knife was then jabbed into his neck. Not too hard, but hard enough that Merlin felt a light dribble of liquid running down his skin. He tilted his head back by reflex, trying to escape the pressure, and he winced as he rapped his head against the wall again.

"Ow!" Merlin moaned.

"Why not?" Rupert demanded. Merlin rolled his eyes at him, trying not to move too much with the knife pressing into his throat.

"Because I'm not stupid," Merlin said. "I know how badly it compromises Arthur to know about me, and say nothing. If Uther ever found out I don't think any of us can truly guess how he'd react, then my one and only priority would be Arthur. It always will be. And I won't swear anything on anyone's life, least of all Arthur's."

Merlin shuttled his eyes around, all of the knights were gaping at him in shock. He couldn't put it any other way. Most of the time Merlin did what he thought was right, and above that, he would always do what protected Arthur.

"Sorry," he said to them, releasing a tensely held breath as Jonas took the knife away from his throat.

"You mean that," he stated flatly. Merlin glowered at him.

"Of course I do."

"Fair enough," Jonas said straightening up and handing the knife to Olwen. "Let him go."

Merlin smirked and before Olwen could move - he was still as frozen as the rest of them trying to take in why Jonas had backed off - Merlin whispered a word and they all turned and saw his eyes flash gold. Immediately the ropes around his ankles loosened and he shrugged his shoulders to pull his arms free, drawing them from behind his back.

"No need," he smiled at Olwen, who gave a vague smile back. Jonas whipped around, watching as Merlin struggled to pull the remainder of the rope away from his wrists and ankles, tugging at the threads impatiently. As he eventually managed it and got onto his knees the knights backed up a step moving simultaneously, eyes fixed on him, ranging from shock to fury.

"You mean you could have done that at any time?" Jonas demanded.

"Yep," Merlin said getting to his feet and brushing himself off, dusting loose slivers of hay from his clothes. He wobbled a little as he straightened up and he rubbed his head, probing for lumps and wincing as he found one on his left temple.

"So why didn't you?" Olwen asked, looking at the knife in his hands. The point was covered in a smear of Merlin's blood, and Merlin was feeling the wound on his neck, looking at the blood on his fingertips before probing at it again. Olwen swiftly passed the knife back to Jonas.

"It seemed rude," Merlin said, tugging on his scarf to hide the cut. "Plus, under the circumstances I don't think it would have helped."

"But we were deciding whether or not to expose you to Uther, and you would have been put under threat of execution if we did," Robert said. Merlin shrugged.

"And what would you have done if I had used magic to escape, you probably would have made up your mind even quicker, and you would have told Uther."

"What would you have done if we had decided to do that anyway?" Gareth asked. Merlin blinked.

"Oh, yeah, good point, when you leave, you might want to go left and around the stables the back way to your rooms."

"Why?"

Merlin jerked his head at the nearby wall. "Because Arthur is sat seething in the stable next door. Next time you feel an urge to kidnap me, don't do it in the courtyard, under Arthur's window."

There was no describing the satisfaction he felt at watching the expressions of shock, and some of horror, at what he just said. It made everything worthwhile, although he had probably best not tell Arthur what he had just said.

"Why didn't he come in then?" Olwen asked.

"I asked him not to."

"When? How did you know that we'd do anything like this?"

"I didn't, I kind of… I'm not sure really, I'm usually good at sensing him, it generally helps."

As Merlin paused Olwen's face flickered with a smile.

"I could sense him coming and somehow could just do it in my mind. It seemed better to leave him out of it, don't you think?"

He asked them. They all now looked nervous. It was all very well threatening Merlin, but Arthur knew about it.

"Is he really mad?" Olwen asked nervously. Merlin felt sorry for him, he had been very staunchly on Merlin's side. He balanced that against the anger he could feel simmering in Arthur. The prince had been left there waiting, with no idea what was going on in the room beyond. Merlin thought he had better not leave him there much longer.

"He's been in better moods," Merlin said, they all winced. Merlin held back a smile as he added. "You might want to be prepared; I can assume that training tomorrow might be just a little unpleasant."


	5. Arthur And Merlin

As Merlin stepped into the doorway of the next stable, there was a lightening movement to his left and Arthur stepped out. The point of Arthur's sword jabbed into his collar bone and Merlin froze, raising his hands.

"I come in peace," he said. Arthur snorted and retracted his sword, stepping forward so they were both caught in the nearby torchlight, just outside the stables.

"At least it's not in pieces," Arthur said. Merlin grinned and Arthur looked him up and down. "I can presume you're all right, what happened?"

As he asked that Arthur reached up and pulled down Merlin's scarf, hissing with anger as he saw the cut that Jonas had made. Merlin tried to bat him off, but Arthur was having none of it. Looking around he dragged Merlin into the dark stables.

"How are you going to see anything in here?" Merlin asked.

"Merlin!" Arthur snapped.

"Fine," Merlin huffed. He turned and glared at the torch set in a nearby bracket, and with a golden flash of his eyes lit it. The horses stirred and snorted at the sudden light, but then they settled again. Arthur watched Merlin and then the torch with interest. Merlin waited a moment, and after Arthur's interest passed he went back to looking at the nick on his neck.

"Who did that?"

"Arthur, I'm fine, stop it!" Merlin went around him, sat down on the hay pile where Arthur had been, rocked back a little too sharply and rapped the back of his head again. "Ow!" Merlin objected this time with a little more venom and rubbed the back of his head.

"Are you all right?" Arthur asked, sitting next to him and probing the back of Merlin's head, and then he noticed the bruised lump on his temple.

"You didn't do that," Arthur snapped, very sure of that fact.

"No, they knocked me against a wall. Oh stop that!" he snapped as Arthur growled.

"Well, you are going to end up with some kind of mental deficiency if you keep getting your head banged like that," Arthur said.

"I am not, I'm fine."

"What happened? I'm guessing you didn't need me."

"No, they are going to stick by what they promised. Although I think I had better keep my head down and keep the tricks to a minimum for a while."

"You do that anyway," Arthur said. "How are you going to explain all that?" he asked tapping Merlin's head and making him wince a little.

"I can say I fell over, or that you threw something at me."

"I do not throw things at you!" Arthur snapped. Merlin turned his head and gave Arthur a pointed looked. Arthur pouted sulkily. "I do not deliberately aim at you, most of them miss you."

"Not always," Merlin reproved him.

"I don't know what you're complaining about, you can stop flying objects in mid-air and send them in all directions," Arthur said.

"I know, I just don't want to be randomly using magic, just in case."

"In front of me it doesn't matter."

"I should be careful though," Merlin said. They fell silent for a moment, sitting back against the wall, shoulders just touching. Arthur turned and looked at Merlin, who was resting his head back and had closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Merlin."

"For what?" Merlin asked, tilting his head and opening one eye a little. He was getting a bit of a headache now, but he thought he had better keep that to himself rather than sending Arthur off on another anger trip.

"This is all my fault. If I hadn't made you perform that spell, then no one else would know."

"Probably because we'd all be serket fodder," Merlin mused. "You were right, there was only me that could get us out of that. I'm just not used to being so public about it."

"If you had done it the other way, would everyone have survived?" Arthur asked.

"Probably not, you would, and I would, but I couldn't say about them. I'm not sorry you made me do it."

"Good, did they say anything else?"

"They tried to make me take a vow that I would protect the king and Camelot. I didn't do it."

Arthur sat up, glaring down at him. "Why not?"

"If you were king, it wouldn't be a problem, but while Uther is on the throne then I can't."

"You won't vow to protect my father?" Arthur asked.

"Not above you. If he finds out about me, or that you know, what will he do. I can't be sure of how he'll react. I will protect you over him, always. The only reason I have ever helped him is because you've wanted or needed it. I will not make a promise that protects him over you, nor will I swear it on your life. It's as simple as that."

Merlin looked away as Arthur stared at him, eyes wide and unblinking. Slowly Arthur sat back down and settled against the wall again. He took in a heavy breath, which seemed to involve a great deal of sniffing.

"You know I said that time, some of the things you say sound like…" Arthur paused. He sighed again. "It's one of those times."

Merlin gritted his teeth as he heard the intonation in Arthur's voice. Arthur didn't like too much open expression, so Merlin made the effort to conceal his reaction, instead he said.

"Thank you, Sire."

He snorted with laughter as Arthur leant into him, bumping his shoulder with Merlin's. They sat there for a moment. Merlin didn't feel like moving just yet. It was nice, sitting there with Arthur. This Arthur, the one that forgave him, that joked with him. Not the prince, the one who would be king. This was just Arthur, the Arthur that perhaps Arthur really wanted to be.

"I should probably warn you," Merlin felt obligated to say.

"What?"

"I told them you were next door, in here."

"WHAT?"

"Well, they were letting me go, and they had banged my head against a wall. I just thought that they ought to know. They should not go kidnapping people under your window."

"I can't believe you, Merlin!"

Merlin turned his head to grin at Arthur. "Oh, come on, you should have seen the looks on their faces, trust me." Merlin started to giggle the bubble of laugher rising up inside him. Once he started he couldn't seem to stop. Arthur watched him in outrage, and then his face turned to mild amusement.

"Merlin, you know that thing I tell you to do?"

"Shut up," Merlin gasped through his giggles. Arthur grinned at him.

"Yeah, that one."

Merlin shook his head. "No, it was too good to miss. I had to say it. If nothing else they are all in training tomorrow, and I know you too well."

Arthur looked outraged and then smirked. "Okay, so they can have a very bad time tomorrow. A very bad time."

"I suppose it would look bad if you went easy on Olwen," Merlin mused.

"Why?"

"He was keeping the promise no matter what. He wasn't going to let anyone sway him."

"Good for Olwen," Arthur said. "He never struck me as one to go against the herd."

"People are full of surprises," Merlin said. Arthur rolled his eyes in Merlin's direction.

"Yes," Arthur mused.

They both fell silent again for a minute.

"Arthur, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"You said after Morgause showed you that image of your mother," Merlin hesitated as he felt Arthur tense, but he forced himself to barrel on anyway. "That you knew that all sorcerers were evil."

"I don't think you're evil Merlin, just probably an exception to a rule," Arthur sighed. "It was another reason that I wanted to keep a close eye on you. I don't want that happening to you."

Merlin raised his eyebrows, not entirely sure how to interpret that, but it seemed touching. It made his point now.

"Power corrupts; it doesn't have to be magical."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Arthur demanded.

"Do you think that I am the only sorcerer that is trying to help? There are healers and others, they mean no harm."

"From my experience Merlin, the ones that come to Camelot are intent on harm. I haven't met another that didn't mean to hurt me, or the kingdom, or my father."

"I know, it's not a good track record but… do you remember the questing beast?"

"Yeah," Arthur said. "What about it?"

"I made a pact to get your life back. To save yours I had to exchange another life."

"Did you?" Arthur drawled dangerously. "Who?"

"I traded my life," Merlin said.

"And your still here."

"Nimueh tried to take my mother, and then Gaius tried to go in my place. I killed Nimueh, which restored the balance that she demanded."

"Merlin! She attacked the kingdom! Don't tell me that you are going to defend her."

"No! I killed her, she tried to kill me."

"Did she know about you?"

"That was why she poisoned the goblet at the meeting with Bayard. She told me it was poisoned, she knew I would be forced to drink it, to save you."

"I know you did, what did she mean when she said I wasn't meant to die at her hands."

"Don't know, but you're not going to be dead for a very long time, trust me on that. But your father, back to the question, he sees magic before he even sees evil, do you think that is right."

"I don't always agree with my father Merlin. And I can't on this now. I have to change my perspective. You're a sorcerer, there is no getting around that fact, but why do you bother? You could go elsewhere, somewhere safer, why do you stay here?"

Merlin sat back and sighed. "Destiny is a tricky thing, but, I stay now because I like you. I've had enough time to ponder it and I think you will be a very good king. I think you will be thoughtful, you won't base anything just on face value and I hope that some of that, I'd be proud to think so, was just at least some way down to me."

Arthur said nothing for a moment and then smiled.

"You're a servant, Merlin, but you should be proud of it. Now, do I need to walk you back to your rooms, or can you manage that without mobs of knights kidnapping you?"


	6. The Knights, Arthur and Merlin

Training was a bloodbath, without the blood. Arthur was relentless and most of the knights watched him with awe, but they didn't dare make eye contact with him. Merlin wasn't entirely spared it, regularly caught under the lash of Arthur's temper. Merlin ran around giving people water, helping them up, removing dented armour. It was probably, Merlin reflected, a good thing. This way Arthur showed that Merlin wasn't the recipient of his favour. And he wasn't treating him any differently because of his magic.

No one else thought anything was strange. They just assumed Arthur had got out of the wrong side of the bed that morning and just stayed out of his way. It was easy enough, Arthur had his sights firmly fixed on the five knights involved in Merlin's kidnapping.

Olwen slumped against the nearest fence and Merlin ran up with a water-skin. The knight drank the whole lot in practically one gulp. Merlin held out a cloth and Olwen wiped the sweat off his face and pushed back his lank hair. He looked up at Merlin pitifully.

"How long is this going to last?"

"I'm hoping just today, as long as he feels he had made his point."

Olwen turned his head to look around at his fellow knights, who were all staggering under the pressure.

"I think he has, Merlin can't you do something?"

Merlin blinked and then shook his head with a wry smile. "Trust me, I'm the last person that can go to Arthur asking a favour right now. I'm not even going to risk muttering insults under my breath."

"Merlin!"

He winced inwardly as he heard Arthur's voice and then the prince thundered up next to him on his horse. He threw the small hoop at Merlin, who caught it in his left hand, almost dropping it but he slammed it against his chest to keep the hoop in his hand.

"If you've got nothing better to do than stand around, you can stand in the jousting area."

Merlin almost opened his mouth to say he needed to get some more water for everyone, but the look on Arthur's face made it clear that if Merlin did that, then Olwen would be the one holding the hoop while Arthur played target practice with his lance. With a sigh Merlin thrust the water-skin at Olwen and turned to head in the direction of the jousting ring, with Arthur walking the snorting horse next to him, the butt of his lance resting in his stirrup.

He looked up at Arthur, who seemed very pleased with himself. Arthur looked down and smirked.

"What, no insult?"

"No, I have visions of being pinned to the target board while you throw knives at me," Merlin said. Arthur started to laugh.

"That sounds like fun!"

Merlin groaned. "It's not even me you're angry at."

"I'm not that angry at them. I suppose I should have almost expected it, but that does not mean I can allow people to get away with it."

"I don't think anyone is getting away with it," Merlin said. "I should have kept my mouth shut."

"I would have thought that you would find that completely impossible," Arthur said. Merlin glared up at him as they went into the jousting ring.

"Hey, I can keep some secrets."

"Good thing to, or you'd be missing your head," Arthur said. Merlin looked at the hoop he was holding apprehensively.

"I think I might be in a minute."

Arthur laughed and indicated to the spot he wanted Merlin to stand on. Merlin did and Arthur cantered his horse to the far end of the arena. With a sigh Merlin held up the hoop. At the end of the arena he watched Arthur turn, his visor now down and his lance ready. Merlin cringed, closing his eyes as the horse ran forward. The gush of wind as the horse brushed past him nearly knocked him over. The hoop was pulled from his grasp and Merlin's arms flopped to his sides as the tension left him. Arthur trotted his horse in a circle, holding his lance up and eyeing the hoop he had expertly caught.

"Sire?"

Both of them turned to look at Sir Leon, who had clearly been nominated to come and see Arthur. He eyed the prince carefully, not wanting to be another victim of Arthur's foul mood. Leon glanced at Merlin briefly, who gave as innocent a look back as he could manage and concentrated on brushing sand off his clothes.

"What is it?" Arthur asked.

"The knights are in need of rest," Leon said tentatively. Arthur raised his eyebrows, making Leon look increasingly apprehensive. A few of the knights were hanging around the entrance, waiting for Arthur's verdict. Leon blinked as Arthur ignored him for the moment and turned his gaze in Merlin's direction, tipping his lance to return the hoop to Merlin.

"Other end, Merlin," and as Merlin's shoulders dropped asked, "what do you look so worried for?"

Merlin sighed and turned, walking in the direction he was ordered, announcing over his shoulder.

"Nothing I suppose, smart arse, I guess I trust you."

"Glad to hear it, a little to the left!" Arthur yelled at him. Merlin lifted the hoop, screwing up his eyes as Arthur urged his horse on again. Again there was the breeze and Arthur's grabbing the hoop, only this time, Merlin's grip was a little too hard, and the horse brushed closer and he went flying backwards to land in a heap, rolling away from the horses hooves.

Merlin rolled under the central fence to make sure he was clearly out of the way and then found himself picked up by Olwen, who had run in seeing Merlin go down. Olwen started to dust him off.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"Fine," Merlin said before sending a baleful glare in Arthur's direction. Arthur raised his eyebrows and watched. Robert was not that far behind Olwen, but seeing Merlin upright and intact he turned to Arthur instead.

"We need to at least take a break, before any serious accidents happen," Robert said seriously. Arthur's expression didn't change for a moment but in the end he nodded.

"We'll leave it for today, I think certain improvements have been made," he said pointedly, dropping his lance and dismounting from his horse. Merlin took the reins as they were handed to him, and he gave Arthur a speculative look. Arthur decided not to notice.

"Did you do that on purpose?" Merlin asked as he poured another bucket of hot water into Arthur's bath.

"Do what?" Arthur demanded from behind the nearby screen.

"Knock me over, you're never that careless," Merlin said. Arthur's head peered from around the screen.

"Excuse me?"

"I said!" Merlin raised his voice dramatically. "That you are never that careless!"

Arthur pulled a surprised face and then grinned. His head disappeared again and he announced.

"I'm fairly certain there is a complement in there somewhere."

"Not much of one," Merlin said. Arthur's head reappeared.

"No, I'm fairly certain there was a rather large one."

"So what was the purpose of that?" Merlin asked, wafting his hand in the water and deciding to add some cold. He poured in a little as Arthur appeared from behind the screen in a towel.

"Just making sure."

"Of what?" Merlin stopped messing with the bath and he glared at Arthur.

"Genuine reaction. They were too tired to really consider their responses. All of them seemed worried about you, and they can be fairly reassured of your status."

"You mean as a lowly servant used for target practice."

"I also noticed you made sure Olwen stayed out of the firing line."

"He was the one that wanted to stick by the vow, without question, everyone is so used to Uther's reaction to sorcerers, maybe they haven't really considered their own opinion on the subject," Merlin said, pulling Arthur's clothes off the screen and checking to see what needed washing. There was a splash as Arthur got into the bath.

"That's an interesting concept."

"If the king's son can change his opinion, who knows. Maybe that was what was worrying them, having to have their own opinion."

"Was there any time last night you were really worried?" Arthur asked. Merlin paused, piling all the clothes together; they probably all needed cleaning after today. Merlin sniffed at his own shirt and grimaced.

"Not really, if all else failed I could have called you, but I was starting to wonder if that was actually a good idea."

"Why not?"

"It wouldn't have solved the problem, it probably would have made them think that I was using a spell on you."

Arthur snorted and then turned, resting his arms on the edge of the bath.

"You're not are you?"

"No, I don't think a spell could penetrate that thick skull of yours," Merlin said, and then yelped as Arthur threw the soap at him.

"I'm starting to consider that target board idea of yours."

"Don't you dare! There is no way I am letting you do that, you…" Merlin was trying to think up an insult when Arthur said in a very obvious tone.

"Merlin…"

Merlin raised his eyebrows. "Shut up?"

"That's the one, and give me back the soap."


	7. Merlin, The Knights, and Arthur

**Finally wrote the last chaper of this! God, it was hard! The knights may get another outing; (but they will also just keep appearing in other stories, when I need them.)**

The five knights were slumped down on a table in the tavern, all of them just staring vacantly around and sipping at their drinks. Olwen had sprawled across the flat of the table and he lifted his head high enough to say.

"I am aching in places I didn't know could ache."

Gareth looked up. "I'm aching in places I didn't even know I had!"

"I'm never moving again," Robert added, his voice echoing as he stayed slumped over, face down on the table.

"Well, I'm never kidnapping Merlin again," Jonas added. Olwen started to laugh, and then groaned as it hurt too much. He dropped his head back down onto the table.

"Merlin didn't fare any better than we did today," Rupert pointed out. All of them pondered that, including the near miss during Arthur's jousting practice. None of them realised what Merlin had about Arthur's tactics.

"Why didn't he just let Arthur rescue him last night? Wouldn't that have been easier?" Jonas asked.

"For who?" Robert asked, head still on the table.

"Merlin said it wouldn't have solved anything," Gareth said. "Can you imagine what we would have done if Arthur had come storming in to rescue him."

"We would have probably gone to Uther," Jonas concluded.

"I wouldn't," Olwen said stubbornly. "I don't really agree with the king."

He spoke almost nervously, looking around a little to see if anyone heard what he said. Everyone else in the tavern carried on with what they were doing, unaware of what the five knights were discussing. The rest of the regulars were used to seeing the knights frequent the place, and they were left alone. The landlord certainly didn't mind them there, it meant there was never any trouble, nothing got broken, no fights occurred. It was generally pleasant when the knights of Camelot were out drinking. Although he watched them all with curiosity, since the five of them could hardly seem to lift their drinks, and they all seemed very quiet.

They were in fact very quiet as they took in what Olwen had just said, and clearly didn't want to repeat, but the look in their eyes as they glanced around said enough.

"When did Merlin get to be so damn astute?" Jonas asked.

"I always was, I'm in disguise," Merlin announced. All the knights jumped and then groaned as they moved parts of their body that really didn't want to move. "I told Gwen that ages ago."

"Does Gwen know as well?"

"About me… oh, no, no no!" Merlin said. "It was about something else actually, that I could be a rough, save the world, kind of guy, like Arthur."

The knights sniggered and then groaned again. Merlin looked at them, and then down at himself.

"Alright, maybe not, the comparison here probably doesn't put me in the most flattering of lights," Merlin mused.

"No it doesn't," Jonas said lifting his arm to pat Merlin's arm, and then winced at the pain in his shoulder. He rolled it, but that didn't seem to do much to help it. Merlin frowned and took Jonas' arm, putting a hand on the knight's shoulder to apply pressure and he rotated his arm.

"Ow!" Jonas moaned, and then gave a little groan of release. Merlin rotated his arm the other way and started to massage the muscles in Jonas' shoulder. The knight winced for a moment and then relaxed. Merlin let him go.

"Better?" he asked. Jonas shifted his shoulder a little.

"Yeah, thanks. What are you doing here anyway?"

"I've just escaped Arthur, and I wanted to make sure no one was planning to pounce on me again," Merlin said brightly. Five pairs of eyes looked up at him steadily. Merlin gave a nervous grin.

"Okay, just thought I'd check it, if it's any consolation he seems in a better mood now."

They all just groaned at him.

"And I came to see if you guys were all right," Merlin said. They all looked up at him again. "And you are, so good, I need to be going now, if you need anything for… aches and… Gaius has some remedies and stuff."

Very slowly Merlin started backing off, babbling a little. As he got far enough away he turned and hurried out of the tavern again, bashing into tables and stammering apologies as he went. The knights watched him go and then looked at each other.

"Makes you wonder sometimes if he really does have a mental deficiency," Jonas asked. Olwen scowled at him.

"That or if he should be locked up for his own protection, that boy is a walking accident," Robert said.

"Like I said to Arthur weeks ago, his kingdom will probably be ok as long as Merlin doesn't drop it," Olwen said, putting his head down again. The rest of them slumped, and that appeared to be the end of that.

"Well?" Arthur demanded as Merlin stepped outside the tavern. He stood there with his arms folded, shoulders all tense and eyes focused.

"What was the point of sending me in there?" Merlin asked. "Why didn't you go?"

"I am the Crown Prince of Camelot, I do not frequent taverns," Arthur said taking Merlin's shoulder to start propelling him down the street.

"Only when you want to 'measure the mood of your people', or start a fight," Merlin drawled sarcastically.

"I don't recall starting a fight," Arthur said.

"Yeah, you do have rather a selective memory at times," Merlin said. "Ow!" he added as Arthur clipped him around the head.

"I am going to end up damaged!" Merlin said.

"There's nothing to damage Merlin," Arthur said.

"I resent that," Merlin muttered.

"Good for you, now, what did they say?"

"Not much, I think they are just happy to hear that you are out of your bad mood. You are, aren't you? I mean, that's it, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I think so. It's a difficult thing to get over," Arthur said, turning to walk off. Merlin frowned and jogged after him.

"What is? You being a prat, you'd think most people would be used to it by now."

"No, idiot," Arthur snapped at him. "You."

"Me?"

"Yes, Merlin, you, being.. well… you! I hardly expected them just to dismiss it, they can't expect me to either, surely?"

Merlin frowned, "You expected them to do something."

"Maybe, after Olwen came and spoke to me I thought that…." Arthur paused and stopped walking, turning to face Merlin, looking at him steadily.

"Merlin, it is not an easy thing to get over, learning what you are."

"You did."

"I am doing."

Merlin frowned. The shot of fear lanced through him, far worse than any time that Arthur put him through the rigours of the training ground, or dragged him out on missions. Merlin could protect himself now, and Arthur. It was easier now.

"You mean you're not; I mean you wouldn't; would you?"

Arthur reached out a hand, clamping it down on Merlin's shoulder. Merlin watched him carefully. If Arthur suddenly changed his mind then the whole thing got blown wide open. He watched the changing expressions on Arthur's face, as he tried to work out exactly what he wanted to say.

"It's not easy." Arthur spoke slowly, his eyes not quite meeting Merlin's for a moment. "All I know of sorcerers is what I have seen."

"None of which is good, I get that. And a lot of people who mean no harm don't get a chance, Arthur."

"I know. And I know, I can see it, and that you think I keep being too hard on you. But I don't know anything else that I can do. I know why people attack Camelot, so many times. But when I see that power sometimes and how they use it, I just think I have to stop you."

Arthur, to Merlin's amazement, sounded really worried. At least he could now understand the pushing, it wasn't just Arthur taking it out on him. He was actually worried. Merlin blinked and looked away.

"You do, when I'm not contemplating turning you into a toad."

"Thanks," Arthur said, a smile slowly starting to creep across his face. "But I have to do that for them as well now. I have to give them a reason to not tell my father."

"You don't think their word is enough. That really doesn't show a whole load of faith in them," Merlin said.

"I know, but I just get it going over in my mind, what do I do if I have to make that choice, if my father finds out."

"Then you give me up, Arthur, you shouldn't jeopardize yourself for me."

"I doubt it would be as simple as that now."

"No, I guess not," Merlin said. "But maybe things are changing a little, now."

Arthur looked at him with that expression he sometimes used, when Merlin managed to surprise him by sounding intelligent. Merlin had to admit, he didn't see it very often. Then again as a cover it had stood him in good stead over the last few years. Now a few people knew about him, and were just about willing to take it on face value. Merlin was left with a lot to live up now.

"Maybe they are, Merlin. Maybe they just are."


End file.
